Jets kicking nightmare finally ends as Cade York loses competition

The New York Jets are one step closer to picking a Week 1 kicker, as their competition between Cade York and Jason Sanders has come to an end.

After a rough practice in which both kickers missed multiple sub-50-yard kicks, the Jets waived York. While they could look to bring in another player to compete with Sanders, all signs point to the former Miami Dolphins veteran as the favorite to open the season against the Tennessee Titans.

This competition shows that the Jets are a far cry from a Nick Folk-led unit that was drilling kick after kick last year and emerged as one of the lone bright spots from a 3-14 campaign, but this decision will ease concerns that the Jets will go into the season with a player who has never had success at the NFL level.

New York Jets cut Cade York as Jason Sanders wins kicking competition

York, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Cleveland Browns way back in 2022, has spent parts of a few seasons with Cleveland, Washington, and Cincinnati. Despite a productive college career, York has missed 12 of the 45 kicks he has attempted in the pros. Drafting a kicker is risky, and drafting one that high to cut him after one year is an even worse look.

Sanders did not suit up in the 2025 season, and the crosstown New York Giants were seemingly unimpressed by him earlier in the offseason, but he at least has a history of being a productive player in the NFL. Sanders, who was a first-team All-Pro once upon a time, has made just under 85% of his kicks in the pros and gives the Jets some experience.

There are still some free agents who could be added to the mix, as Sanders' year off means he is a few steps below Adam Vinatieri as a kicker in the eyes of many. While special teams coordinator Chris Banjo has earned the benefit of the doubt after a brilliant 2025 season, the Jets' kicking room does not look very impressive to the untrained eye. The Week 18 kicker may not be on the roster right now.

Neither Sanders nor York has impressed, as even the former has struggled with the 50-plus kicks that have become second nature for many of the best legs in the NFL, but York's inconsistency was too much for this staff to handle, and it earned him a one-way ticket out of Florham Park.

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